Joe Camp

Joseph Shelton Camp Jr. (April 20, 1939 – March 15, 2024) was an American film director and writer who is best known as the creator and director of the Benji films, as well as Hawmps! and The Double McGuffin. He made over $600 million in gross income and was one of the most successful independent filmmakers in history. He studied advertising and marketing at the University of Mississippi from 1957–1961, and married his college sweetheart, Carolyn Hopkins, in 1960. He was with her until her death from heart disease in 1997. He married a second and final time to Kathleen Camp in 2001, whom he was with until his death in 2024. Camp was also known for his work with horses. He owned and trained five horses at his Valley Center Ranch where he lived in Valley Center, California. He wrote two books about his experiences with horses, The Soul of a Horse: Life Lessons from the Herd and Born Wild: The Journey Continues. He wrote eleven more books including three novels, a dog training book, an autobiography, and children's books. Camp owned a production com... ()